Is this normal behaviour between males?

[Adam (birkin)]

Lately, I've noticed something happening that never happened when I was seen as female...but it doesn't seem like something a male would do to another male. It seems like something a guy would do to a girl.

The past couple of days I have been walking in the park. And guys have greeted me as we walk past each other. One just said "Hi." Another said "Nice day out here!" And the other I think just said hello or something like that.

Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but do guys really do that to one another? I mean, as a girl, if I said hi to a guy he took it as interest, so I stopped - I assumed men would not say it to another man for fear of coming off as gay or something. But this is something that never happened to me as a girl either....as a girl, only old ladies said hello to me, lol.

What gives? Is this normal? Has this happened to anyone else while living as male?

[HoneyStrums]

NORMAL through and through.

Ladies say hi to ladies.
men say hi to men.

lines of intent get assumed when the hi is between the sexies. For some obscore reason

[Sincerely Tegan]

Nope, it's pretty normal for a male to greet another male in passing, especially if they make eye contact. Think if it almost as a statement of non-aggression. "I see you and acknowledge you" is pretty much what you should take from it.

-Teg

[Ms Grace]

I guess it depends. When I was presenting as a guy, if a random guy greeted me for no apparent reason I just presumed they were drunk/from the country/gay/wanted something. Yes, I'm terribly cynical. No, I don't have many male friends! One of my few male friends is very friendly though and certainly would do what you described with other men for no reason other than to be friendly.

Nope, it's pretty normal for a male to greet another male in passing, especially if they make eye contact. Think if it almost as a statement of non-aggression. "I see you and acknowledge you" is pretty much what you should take from it.

I really worked hard on avoiding eye contact!

[Sincerely Tegan]

I really worked hard on avoiding eye contact!

Me too, Grace! Lol

But, in instances when eye contact still occurs, I've perfected the uncomfortable nod of acknowledgement before the quick gaze aversion. Yup, that sky or that ground suddenly gets very interesting.

-Teg

[HoneyStrums]

Me too, Grace! Lol

But, in instances when eye contact still occurs, I've perfected the uncomfortable nod of acknowledgement before the quick gaze aversion. Yup, that sky or that ground suddenly gets very interesting.

-Teg

I did this too, and sometimes i felt like a golfer looking for ther balls.
Wether in the sky off tee, on in the under bush.

[defective snowflake]

When I was a dude, I didn't make eye contact with people and I wasn't all that friendly to strangers, not mean, just not friendly.

Now, I'll say hi to anyone, if they read more into it than just being friendly and pleasant, then that's their issue.  I do know that people in general, men and women, will tell me way more about themselves than I need to know. Its weird they way people will open up to me, especially at work.

[Vicky]

lines of intent get assumed when the hi is between the sexies. For some obscure reason

Nothing obscure about the reason where I came from!!  Called "hitting on".   

As a wee tad of a lad I was taught that men tipped their hats  and said "good <time of day>" to other men, and merely tipped their hats at a LADY.  (whatever meaning you wish to give that to)   Boys tipped their caps to anyone older, and said the greeting.  It was a long time ago.

Post transition, I do speak to other women, and just nod if a male speaks at me!!  I can adapt.

[immortal gypsy]

It is strange men are really quite sociable creatures arent they. You will find one or two will probably say high to you in passing, simmilar to the 'hail good knight' from the middle ages. The amount of random conversations I have heard and particapated in between strangers on both sides of the bar is astounding. Also men will talk about pretty much anything and everything so you could be surprised by some of the conversations had, the trick is to learn when it is friendly banter (sporting teams especally) and when you should leave

[JamesG]

Very common here in tha' Sa'outh... General courtesy and acknowledgement, especially of elders & peers never went out of fashion here.

[HoneyStrums]

Nothing obscure about the reason where I came from!!  Called "hitting on".   

As a wee tad of a lad I was taught that men tipped their hats  and said "good <time of day>" to other men, and merely tipped their hats at a LADY.  (whatever meaning you wish to give that to)   Boys tipped their caps to anyone older, and said the greeting.  It was a long time ago.

Post transition, I do speak to other women, and just nod if a male speaks at me!!  I can adapt.

thats what i mean though. assumed. not every guy who says hi to a lady is hitting on them. but its always asumed they are.

[Felix]

It's normal in some places. Where I live I am not usually greeted by strange males unless they need directions or something, but it's not alarming or confusing when it happens. I think sometimes it's a way of indicating that they are not a threat, especially at night or in poorer neighborhoods.

[Rachel]

I am from Philadelphia and there is a lot you need to be able to recognize quickly when walking. The neighborhood you are in may dictate you have eyes behind your head. In some neighborhoods you need to be alert and know who is approaching. In a strange neighborhood you do not say anything and sometimes switch to the other side of the street. Some neighborhoods you do not go into. If in your own neighborhood not greeting is an insult. At work you greet everyone even if it is just a smile.

[suzifrommd]

My dad, as cisgender and straight as a man can get, routinely greeted men he'd pass in public.

[Jess42]

Perfectly normal. Males greet each other all the time. Sometimes just the nod in passing. If for whatever reason they happen to be in the same place and stopped, they will talk to one another too.

[aleon515]

Yeah actually men can be quite kind of casual with other men, like "hey buddy" and so on. I think it's more common in  some places probably than others. Actually I find women treat me a bit differently, I might be greeted walking the dog though. I think the dog (since she is small and unscary) is a nice bridge. They say it's a way to pick up girls which is too bad when I think I am gay.   Oh well.

--Jay

[E-Brennan]

Agreed.  It's normal.  Strange to think what guys get up to when not in big groups and not observed by females.

I'll normally give another guy a nod or make eye contact, and if he says "hey" I'll give him a "hey" back again.  Nothing weird about that.  Like others have stated, it's more of a "I'm not being rude and ignoring you and I'm not looking for a fight either; I'm just a regular dude like you" kind of thing.

I make sure I avoid looking at passing females though, because I don't want them to feel threatened in any way by some strange guy on the street.  They always seem to reciprocate and look straight ahead too.  If a female makes eye contact with me, I'll give her a quick smile to be polite.

Most guys seem to have their preferred or "go to" casual greeting.  For me, it's "hey", sometimes just a quick nod.  For some others, it's "alright", others a little more elaborate with a multiword greeting like "how's it going" or "'sup dude", that kind of thing.  Pick one and stick with it, get comfortable with it, but don't go over the top with something like "hey my man, how's it going?"  That may have worked in the 1970s, but today's male is far more concise.  Makes life so much easier.

[dalebert]

Sometimes I read things like this and wonder if it can really be that complicated being a guy. Then I think back and realize how many awkward years I had and how long it took me to develop social skills and I realize that a lot of you guys are sometimes decades behind me on even starting the process from a guy's POV.

I think it's a way of displaying confidence. If you walk by someone with your head down because you're really shy, you look timid, like a victim. If you do happen to be crossing paths with a not-so-friendly stranger, you will seem like less of a target when displaying confidence. This applies to everyone, of course, though though I wonder if a woman doing it might be misconstrued as interest by someone who's on the lookout for such things and isn't very socially adept.

That's probably all it is. Still, part of me couldn't help but wonder if a few of them aren't gay guys who are actually trying to flirt a little. But that's because I'm gay so I'm biased.

[Jess42]

Well this may be hard to believe (sarcasm of course) but even in guy mode it seems like I am the chattiest person in the room. Of course posing as a guy and presenting as a female the chattiness is different but I guess I just have a big mouth.

[Spiritwlker]

This is an interesting topic for me. I spent a few months before starting T agonizing over whether my speech pattern and conversation style was 'guy' enough. I think the harder I tried the more awkward I sounded. With all the technology we have now I find many people walk around buried in cell phones (I'm guilty of this too) so when folks do exchange pleasantries it can catch us off guard. I just try to remind myself that its OK to greet people if I feel chatty or not to if I don't, but if I end up making eye contact with someone I at least nod and smile. Since I consider myself a guy I rationalize that whatever behavior I'm comfortable displaying may not be 'typical male' but it is male behavior just the same.